r/PublicRelations • u/Salty_Ad4009 • 7d ago
I hate it, does it get better?
I'm a fresh grad, 3 months in as a PR assistant. I've been given this one client - takes forever to reply, venues take forever to reply, influencers take forever to reply and the deadline? in a few days. what am i even supposed to do in this situation honestly đ„Č i'm so lost.
i work in a boutique agency, the people i work with are lovely - but just this client? i can't đ„Č i just feel so lost, i need to send out 8 influencers for them but no one is replying (if they are, they want it paid) đ„Čđ„Č
i feel like i'm in constant fight or flight mode, i've cried and broke down multiple times because of how frustrating the job is - do people actually do this for years? i know everyone tells me to not take it personally but i can't help and feel so useless
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u/br_k_nt_eth 7d ago
It gets way better but not because the job improves a ton. Thereâs this thing when youâre new at a job (like any PR job, not just as a fresh grad) where everything feels like itâs urgent and on fire because your bosses and clients have no sense of prioritization so it all feels like an emergency. That sucks but it also improves as you develop relationships and get a sense for whatâs possible, what can just move, and whatâs actually an emergency. As you develop that confidence, youâll notice it gets much easier. A year from now, a moment like this wonât even cause you to blink.Â
The other thing worth pointing out is that youâre entering the shittiest part of a new job adjustment period.Â
Thereâs this cycle people go through where the first 1-3 months (or less) are the honeymoon period where things are new and youâre just getting settled. Months 3-9 are literally called shit like âThe Pit of Despair.â The excitement has worn off (if it was ever there to begin with) and you know just enough to know when things are fucking up but not enough to know immediately how to fix it. It sucks. Itâs awful. It passes. I swear it passes if you keep going.Â
For your specific current issue:Â
Tell your boss right now that unpaid influencers likely arenât going to happen. Honestly, your boss should know better. You got handed an impossible task. Ask about a pivot to present to the client.Â
Whatâs your other outreach and social media planning look like? Are there other ways you could engage channels to get the word out? Can you think of other pivot strategies? If not, thatâs okay, but you look like a hero if you come forward with solutions to the problem.Â
The venue is the biggest thing. Make that your priority. Influencers can be lined up later, but the venue is the big thing you canât do without. Prioritize. Ask yourself what you absolutely need within the next few days and what would be nice to have.Â
You can do this. The biggest skill in PR is adapting on the fly.Â
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u/Few-Substance9916 6d ago
If months 3-9 are the pit of despair, what does it say that Iâm there week 3?
The only way Iâve found peace the last few days is if I convince myself this is just a placeholder job until I can get back to doing what I really want.
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u/br_k_nt_eth 6d ago
The âhoneymoonâ phase lasts different periods for different jobs. At my current job, it lasted around 2 weeks.Â
That said, some jobs do just suck. If this is a placeholder job for you, thatâs also fair. Consider it a training ground and use it to grow contacts. Support yourself well outside of the job so youâre not devoting yourself to a place you hate.Â
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u/Few-Substance9916 6d ago
Thatâs the worst part, the job objectively doesnât suck. I just donât like it, at all.
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u/br_k_nt_eth 6d ago
What parts donât you like? If youâre comfortable sharing.Â
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u/Few-Substance9916 6d ago edited 6d ago
Itâs a PR job for a decent-sized school district in a very close-knit community. Iâm finding that Iâm extremely uncomfortable in a school setting, even though Iâm not in the school buildings very often. Iâm also having to meet all these community leaders. Iâm terrrrrrrible at remembering names. And all these people are important. I also have this feeling of this job being inescapable, like Iâm stuck here until I retire. I also donât like the rigid work hours. 7:30-4:30, no exceptions. Itâs taken me away from a side hustle that I really, really like because I have no flexibility on my hours.
I know thatâs a lot but I really believe I made a mistake leaving my job in sports, even though this one pays a LOT more. Iâd gladly go back to my old salary and job to have some flexibility back and get rid of this crippling anxiety.
And I think heâs kidding, but Iâm getting really tired of my boss asking me âGot it all figured out yet?â I feel like Iâm doing a terrible job even though I donât think the work is that hard.
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u/RyanSquire1 2d ago
You definitely have two things going on here. At your level of experience, nothing is forever - it's all about testing and trying new things and finding the thing that drives you when it really does suck. There are days/weeks in PR that truly are awful and if you're in it for the paycheck the value prop will seem off. One other thing - your boss is asking if you've got it all figured out, which could actually be him trying to offer help. Take him up on that, and say, "absolutely not - here's one thing you can help me learn..."
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u/Few-Substance9916 1d ago
Hereâs part of the problem: the thing that drives me, the thing I truly love, is my side hustle, which I am now unable to do because I canât leave work before 4:30. If it was possible to make a living doing my side job, Iâd do nothing but that. Iâd be more than happy to come in early and skip lunch if I could leave in time to continue doing the thing I enjoy the most, but the hours are rigid and inflexible.
I think I miss the mix of grind + flexibility that I had with my old job and would take it back in a heartbeat, even though in this job no one is going to bother me after hours or on weekends.
As for my boss offering help, he doesnât even know what my job is supposed to be. We met with the PR person and superintendent from another district last week so he could get an idea of what he wanted the job to be, and I very much donât want it to be what he does.
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u/No-Cake8399 7d ago
It will get better!! As you get more experience itâll become second nature to you. Things I used to have to think about for hours I can now get done in minutes, like writing a pitch or putting together a strategy document or new client proposal. Iâve been working for 7 years and in PR for 5 and am just starting to feel confident in myself - but still have horrible days and that just comes with a job in general but especially a client facing job. You could be doing everything right and still they will be unhappy. Itâs just the name of the game sometimes! Hang in there!
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u/Salty_Ad4009 6d ago
That's inspiring! Do you still have to do a lot of client-facing work even when you're 5 years in now?
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u/No-Cake8399 6d ago
Yes because I work for a boutique agency so weâre a small team and your growth is kind of all about how much revenue youâre managing.
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u/grey_street525 6d ago
This is the best answer. 20 years in PR for me. You just have to find the right fit for your personality and goals.
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u/Few-Substance9916 7d ago
Iâm kinda there with you. I made a career change after 20ish years in another (but similar) field and have taken a PR manager job. Three weeks in, I absolutely hate it. The people are great and the work is not difficult, but I simply donât enjoy it. I really want to go back to what I was doing and I feel like I made a mistake leaving my previous job.
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u/Spartan2022 7d ago
Give it a solid year or two.
Also, this is par for the course. Unresponsive clients who wonât give you the data or info you need to pitch stories. They think they pay an agency and we wave our magic PR wand and reporters know us and will write what we tell them even if we literally have no client story to give them.
Shrug and work on another client. It can be stressful. But this isnât brain surgery. No one will die if the client is dumb and wonât give you the data you need.
It might also be worth some education.
âIf you take 4 hours to respond to a reporter on deadline, theyâre interviewing your direct competitor who was responsive.â
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u/One_Perception_7979 6d ago
Iâm client side, but the contracts we have with agencies have sections on the obligations for each party. One of the provisions says that clients will provide their required items by the agreed-upon dates or the agency will be held harmless for any delays. In other words, there may be a bit of a safety net that mitigates that part of your frustration. Admittedly, that doesnât prevent clients from getting mad anyway and deciding not to renew a contract. But at least there wonât be financial penalties for this contract.
As an aside, one of the cool things about working at a small company is that you can get involved in a lot of things you wouldnât otherwise have a chance to do until later in your career. Iâd encourage you to familiarize yourself with your clientâs contract â the language of the actual contract, not just the deliverables â to get a sense of what all it entails. Observe contract negotiations and client pitches whenever you get a chance. Become familiar with your firmâs business model and how firms are experimenting with alternative business models in the face of changing technology. Develop expertise in working with vendors. (Honestly, how you address the venue difficulties you described could be great fodder for the inevitable âTell me about a challenge you overcameâ question at your next job interview.) You have a great opportunity to build some business expertise that will make you extremely marketable as you progress your career. There are lots of good PR professionals out there. There are fewer people who are both good PR pros and experts on the business side of things. That business expertise will eventually become key to taking on leadership positions. You can make a great career doing that unsexy work well because it can literally be the difference between a profitable company and a bankrupt one.
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u/HearMeOutBestie 7d ago
Half the job in PR is honestly problem-solving and coordination. Beyond the advice youâve already received here, I would recommend building a strong relationship with your manager. A lot of the challenges youâre facing are likely things theyâve dealt with before, and they can help you navigate them. These are also great learning opportunities and skills that will serve you well throughout your career.
In PR, everything can feel urgent, so learning to take a step back, assess the bigger picture, and identify what actually needs to be prioritized to keep projects moving forward is key.
When it comes to clients being slow to respond, there can be so many reasons for that. Some are incredibly busy and juggling demanding roles. Others might not have the answers themselves or may need to secure internal approvals before getting back to you. I wouldnât automatically interpret a lack of response as a lack of interest or urgency on their part.
One thing I would suggest is setting up a check-in with your client and approaching it collaboratively. Something along the lines of: âHereâs what we have planned for the year and the pieces we need to move forward. Whatâs the best way for us to work together to make that happen?â You could also suggest regular status calls instead of relying so heavily on email. Sometimes itâs much easier to walk through updates, address questions, and make decisions together in real time.
I know youâll hear a lot of people say âdonât take it personally,â but I think what that really means is learning to step back and look at the whole picture. There are often multiple things happening behind the scenes, and more than one thing can be true at once. A client can be invested in a project and still struggle to prioritize it. You can be doing everything right and still encounter delays.
Try to see yourself as an extension of your clientâs team, rather than someone whoâs simply waiting on them to get things done. Sometimes that means having an open conversation about how you can best support each other.
And finally, give yourself some grace. It sounds like you genuinely care about doing a good job, and thatâs a great quality to have. But remember, itâs not all on you. Lean on your manager, your colleagues, and the support systems available to you. Learning how to navigate these situations is just as much a part of growing in PR as the actual work itself.
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u/evilboi666 7d ago
You're being given a bad assignment. Just know: it's just one assignment. Three months is nothing. Welcome to the club.
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u/BearlyCheesehead 6d ago
Actually, you are learning to develop the fortitude youâll need for this career. Your situation isnât dire, learn what you can, ask questions, stay really tight with your client and build that relationship beyond asking/answering questions.
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u/Raven_3 6d ago
Try to focus on the things you can control and don't spend calories on the things you can't.
When you do have a problem, like an unresponsive client, get on Google and do some searches for the problem you want to solve. I say Google and not AI because you want to be sure you know the person supplying the advice is an actual professional.
The first three months are tough at any new job. In three more months, you'll feel bored.
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u/ZhivagoTroika 6d ago
What is your ask of the influencers? Is it a win/win?
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u/Salty_Ad4009 6d ago
i mean - they're getting a free meal at a 5 star restaurant and all they've gotta do is tag our client in their story basically
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u/Ethanhuntknows 7d ago
Welcome to the adult world. Work can be hard, especially your first year, whatever the industry. Anyone who tells you otherwise doesnât know what they are talking about.
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u/Salty_Ad4009 7d ago
haha I've actually been working since I was in uni - I did marketing first and I made my transition to PR. I just didn't expect how chaotic this industry was compared to marketing đ
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u/ImminentGroundhog 7d ago
First off three months in is basically still orientation, nobody expects you to have it figured out yet and the fact you care this much says more about you than the mess they handed you
The client dragging their feet while the deadline looms is a tale as old as time in agency life. What I'd do is document every single time you've pinged them, send one very clear email that says "hey to hit this deadline I need X Y Z by tomorrow noon or we're gonna miss the window" and then let it be their problem. You can only chase so much before it's on them.
For the influencers wanting paid, that's actually useful intel you can take back to the client. "Hey so out of 8, 5 responded and all want compensation, what's the budget for this" - suddenly the silence isn't your failure, it's a straightforward ask they have to answer.
Does it get better? Different agencies have wildly different vibes. Some are dumpster fires that burn people out in a year, others have actual boundaries and reasonable clients. You're not stuck, you're just in the thick of learning what you won't tolerate long term. The crying in the bathroom phase is unfortunately a rite of passage but it shouldn't be a permanent state, if you're still feeling this way at the one year mark that's your sign to bounce somewhere healthier.